Terrorist organizations operating in Lebanon include the radical Shiite militia Hezbollah, several Palestinian groups-Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command-as well as the Abu Nidal Organization, al-Jihad, Asbat al-Ansar, the Japanese Red Army, and some local radical Sunni Muslim organizations.

Another militant group, Fatah al-Islam, which surfaced in 2006, has become one of the country’s main security threats and was involved in a deadly clash with Lebanese troops in May 2007. Moreover, since the end of its devastating fifteen year civil war in 1990, Lebanon-a tiny, mountainous Arab state bordered by Israel, Syria, and the Mediterranean Sea-had, until 2005, been largely controlled by Syria, a state sponsor of terrorism.

Hezbollah, which operates with the approval of Syria and receives massive weapons shipments and military training from its founders in Iran. It is based principally in Beirut, and effectively controls Lebanon’s Shiite-dominated south, and the Bekaa Valley, allowing terrorists to move around these regions with relative impunity. U.S. officials have urged Lebanon and Syria to rein in the group. In July 2006, Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel, including the abduction of two Israeli soldiers at a border station, provoked a massive Israeli military response.

Hezbollah responded by launching rockets into northern Israel. The violence came on the heels of an escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian crisis in Gaza Strip. Israel’s response put pressure on the Lebanese government, highlighting both the conflicting interests of Hezbollah and Lebanon, and Lebanon’s inability to disarm the group.

Hezbollah is also an effective political party in Lebanon and holds twenty-three of the 128 seats in the Lebanese parliament. Since 2000, when it successfully drove Israeli troops from a forty kilometer “security zone” in southern Lebanon after twenty-two years of occupation, Hezbollah has increasingly asserted its influence among Lebanon’s Shiite Muslims-the country’s largest religious group-by establishing social programs, hospitals, and schools.

After gaining independence from French control in 1944, Lebanon grew into a thriving trade and financial center, and its political system—based on power-sharing among religious groups-was hailed as a model of multiethnic cooperation. But in 1975, a civil war broke out between Lebanon’s Muslim majority and its ruling Maronite Christian elite that left the country vulnerable to manipulation by neighboring states and terrorist groups.

Many Syrians have long considered Lebanon rightfully part of “greater Syria,” and in 1976, the Arab League supported a Syrian military intervention after attempts by Western and Arab countries to mediate Lebanon’s civil war failed. Tens of thousands of Syrian troops marched into Lebanon and eventually joined the Sunni-Palestinian coalition in its fight against the Maronite Christians. In 1991, Syria’s control of Lebanon was cemented by the Treaty of Brotherhood, Cooperation, and Coordination, which lasted until the Syrians withdrew their troops from Lebanon in 2005.

During the 1980s, Hezbollah repeatedly targeted Americans. In 1983 and 1984, more than 250 Americans were killed in suicide bombing attacks on a U.S. Marine barracks, the U.S. embassy, and the U.S. embassy annex in Lebanon. A U.S. Navy diver was shot during the 1985 terrorist hijacking of TWA flight 847 in Beirut, and terrorists kidnapped and held hostage several Americans in Lebanon during the 1980s.

These attacks came after the United States sent troops to Lebanon in 1982 in an attempt to quiet tensions following the Israeli invasion and to help promote nation-building. Hezbollah was blamed for carrying out the attacks under the direction of its sponsor, the Islamist, anti-American Iranian regime led by the Ayatollah Khomeini. Following the 1983-84 suicide bombings, the Reagan administration withdrew U.S. troops from Lebanon.

Armed Palestinian groups began launching attacks against Israel from Lebanon following the Six-Day War in 1967. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians live in refugee camps in Lebanon, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) based itself in the country after being expelled from Jordan in 1970.

The outbreak of Lebanon’s civil war in 1975 caused the number of armed groups operating in the country to skyrocket. Among them was a radical Shiite militia called the Lebanese Resistance Detachments (known by its Arabic acronym, Amal), which forged an alliance with Khomeini’s Shiite regime after Khomeini came to power through the 1979 Iranian revolution. In 1982, Iran created the Hezbollah militia to fight Israeli forces, which had invaded Lebanon to destroy the PLO’s Lebanese base and install a pro-Israel Maronite regime in Beirut.

The Lebanese government has cooperated in some international counterterrorism measures and has arrested al-Qaeda members. But it backed Hezbollah’s 1990s attacks on Israel and refuses to interfere with the group’s ongoing attacks against Israeli troops in the disputed border region known as Shebaa Farms. (Lebanon considers Shebaa Farms to be Lebanese territory under Israeli occupation, but the United Nations considers it to be a part of Syria and says that Israel has withdrawn completely from Lebanon.)

Lebanon has also refused U.S.demands to turn over Lebanese terrorists involved in the 1985 hijacking of TWA flight 847 and in the abduction, torture, and murder of U.S. hostages from 1984 to 1991. At the same time, the regime has only limited influence over Hezbollah and Palestinian militants. Moreover, it lacks control of some of Beirut and of the lawless, drug-ridden Bekaa Valley, as well as of many Palestinian refugee camps and the southern border region.

Campaign of violence Starting in 2004, a series of bombings and assassinations struck Lebanon, most of them in and around the capital, Beirut. This wave of bombings began with the assassination attempt on Marwan Hamadeh, then became more intense with the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri on February 14, 2005, which touched off the Cedar Revolution and the withdrawal of Syrian troops. After the massive protests following Hariri’s killing, several more bombings hit Lebanon.

These bombings and assassinations came after September 2004, when the Lebanese Parliament was pressured by Syria to extend the term of pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud through a constitutional amendment. The MPs, journalists, and activists that opposed this term extension were subject to slander, harassment and, in many cases, assassination attempts. Since 2013 most of the bombings were not related to the Cedar Revolution but rather a spillover of the Syrian civil war.

This list is limited to bombings and assassinations; it does not include other form of attacks. It is presented in chronological order. All entries must be cited or have their own article.

2004 -Marwan Hamadeh assassination attempt (October 1) – A car bomb exploded next to the motorcade carrying Druze MP Marwan Hamadeh. Hamadeh was injured, but survived; his driver was killed. Hamadeh was a critic of Syria and a member of the opposition to President Émile Lahoud.

2005 -Rafiq Hariri assassination (February 14) – A massive explosion killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in Beirut, near the St. George Hotel. The former Minister of the Economy, Bassel Fleihan, was also among the 22 killed. About 220 others were wounded. A group calling itself “Al Nusra and Jihad in greater Syria” claimed responsibility for the blast. According to the UN report, released October 20, the blast was the result of a truck bomb. Security video had captured a white truck driving near Hariri’s convoy which investigators determined was carrying an estimated 1,000 kg of explosives. Since Hariri’s convoy had jamming devices meant to block remote control signals, the attack was carried out using a suicide bomber. The report cited a witness who said the bomber was an Iraqi who was led to believe his target was Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, who had been in Beirut just days before. The report concluded that top Syrian and Lebanese officials planned the assassination beginning in mid-2004.

-New Jdeideh bombing (March 19) – A car bomb exploded in the New Jdeideh suburb of Beirut. The blast happened in a mixed commercial-residential area and wounded 11 people. Reports said that the driver had tried to park in front of a bingo hall and was turned away, so he instead parked next to an apartment.

-Kaslik bombing (March 23) – A bomb left in a leather bag exploded at the back entrance of the Kaslik shopping center in Jounieh. Two Indian and one Pakistani janitor were killed, and two Sri Lankans and two Lebanese injured. The roof of the mall collapsed.

-Sad el-Bouchrieh bombing (March 26) – A car bomb parked between two factories exploded in the Sad el-Bouchrieh area of Beirut, wounding 6 people. It caused a blaze which destroyed several workshops.

-Broummana bombing (April 1) – A bomb ripped through the Rizk plaza in the Broummana resort village, 20 km (12 mi) east of Beirut. 12 people were injured.

-Jounieh bombing (May 7) – A car bomb exploded between the Christian Sawt al Mahaba radio station and the Mar Yuhanna Church in Jounieh. The radio station was destroyed and the church suffered major damage. 22 people were wounded.

-Samir Kassir assassination (June 2) – Anti-Syrian journalist Samir Kassir was assassinated when a bomb detonated in his car outside his home in Beirut’s Ashrafiyeh district, a largely Christian residential area. Kassir was a front-page columnist for the al-Nahar newspaper, where he wrote columns criticizing the pro-Syrian government.

-George Hawi assassination (June 21) – Former Lebanese Communist Party leader George Hawi, a critic of Syria, died when his car exploded as he was driving through Beirut’s Wata Musaitbi district.

-Elias Murr assassination attempt (July 12) – A car bomb wounded the outgoing Lebanese defense minister, Elias Murr, as his motorcade drove through Beirut’s Christian suburb of Antelias. 2 people were killed and 12 others injured. This attack was unique in the series of bombings in that Murr was considered a pro-Syrian figure.

-Monot bombing (July 22) – A bomb exploded in a car parked in front of a restaurant on Monot Street in Beirut, wounding 12 people. The bomb was estimated to be 23 kg (50 lb).

-Zalka bombing (August 22) – In the mostly Christian neighborhood of Zalka a bomb placed between a shopping center and a hotel damaged shops and windows, wounding 8 people. It consisted of 20 to 30 kg (44 to 66 lb) of TNT and was set on a timer.

-Jeitawi bombing (September 17) – An explosion in the largely Christian area of Ashrafieh killed 1 person and injured 23 others. It was believed to have been caused by a car bomb; two cars were destroyed and buildings near the blast were severely damaged.

-May Chidiac assassination attempt (September 25) – Christian journalist and critic of Syria May Chidiac was seriously injured when a bomb exploded as she got into her car in Jounieh. She lost her left leg and arm. Chidiac was an anchor on the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation.

-Gebran Tueni assassination (December 12) – A prominent anti-Syrian journalist and lawmaker, Gebran Tueni, was killed by a car bomb. He had returned from France only a day earlier, where he had been staying for fear of assassination. His driver and a passerby were also killed when a car bomb exploded as his motorcade drove through Mkalles, an industrial suburb of Beirut. 3 people were killed and another 30 wounded in the bombing, and at least 10 vehicles were destroyed. The December 28 An Nahar reported that the group “The Strugglers for the Unity and Freedom in al Sham” had claimed responsibility for the bombing in a statement which said outgoing UNIIIC chairman Detlev Mehlis was lucky to escape death and threatened any new chairman with assassination if he too implicated Syria.

-Wissam Eid assassination (January 25) – Capt. Wissam Eid, Lebanese Internal Security Forces senior terrorism investigator, was assassinated. At the time of the attack, Eid was also the top Lebanese investigator into the assassination of Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.

2013 -Roueiss bombing (August 15) – An attack on the Roueiss neighborhood in south Beirut killed 27 people and injured over 300. The attack was believed to have been carried out through a car bomb. Similar to the Beir el-Abed bombing, this attack targeted a Hizbollah stronghold.

-Tripoli dual bombings (August 23) – Bombs hit two mosques killing at least 42 people and wounding hundreds. The first explosion hit the Taqwa mosque, and killed at least 14 people there. Further deaths were reported from a second blast a few minutes later outside the al-Salam mosque, which the Interior Ministry said was hit by a car laden with 100 kg (220 lbs) of explosives.

-Beir Hassan bombing (November 19) – A large explosion near an Iranian cultural center in the southern suburbs of Beirut killed at least 22 people and injured 146 others in a double bomb attack. The explosion appeared to have been caused by a car bomb and a motorcycle laden with explosives.

-Hassan Lakkis assassination (December 3) – A senior Hezbollah commander named Hassan Lakkis was assassinated by two gunmen in Beirut.

-Mohamad Chatah assassination (December 27) – Former-minister Mohamad Chatah, member of the Future Movement, and 5 others were killed by a car bomb that targeted Chatah’s vehicle. Approximately 70 people were wounded in the attack.

2014 -Haret Hreik bombing (January 2) – Explosives were detonated in front of the political office of Hizbollah, killing 4 and injuring 77 others. Several buildings were damaged and flames engulfed vehicles parked on Al-Arid Street, where the explosives-rigged vehicle had been parked.

-1st Hermel bombing (January 16) – A suspected suicide car-bombing killed 5 people and wounded 42 others in a bustling neighborhood in the northeastern town of Hermel.

-2nd Hermel bombing (February 1) – Another terrorist explosion targeted Hermel, killing 4 and injuring 23 civilians in an attack that was claimed by an Al-Qaeda-linked group. The suicide bomber drove a Grand Cherokee Jeep up to a petrol station in the Zahraa area of the city where he then detonated a car bomb.

-3rd Hermel bombing (February 22) – A suicide car bombing targeting an army post in Hermel killed 3 people including 2 soldiers and wounded 17 others. The Lebanon branch of the Nusra Front, a radical Syrian rebel force, claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing, saying it was part of a “series of vengeful attacks”.

-Qaa Bombings (June 27) – Several suicide bombings killed at least 5 people and wounded more than 12 in the eastern village of Al Qaa. Security officials believe Islamic State militants were behind the attack although no one claimed responsibility.

Our Vision

Terrorist activities harm innocent citizens, including children who are both injured, killed and kidnapped by terrorists, and are also recruited by militants who exploit them for violent purposes. We wish our children to grow in a better society and in a nonviolent world, free of the threat of terror, whatever its origin or creed may be. [...]

Our Project

Violent and extremist groups are sometimes supported by allegedly legitimate organizations and businessmen. We believe that locating and exposing those financing terrorist organizations is an effective way to harm such organizations. Live and Let Live aims to bring to the public and to decision makers the necessary information [...]